We appreciate IG, police presence in Benue, what we want is arrest of killers – Onoja, Commissioner for Information

20 Jan 2018

The Benue State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Lawrence Onoja, Jnr., speaks on the crisis in the state in this interview with JOHN CHARLES

Now that the Federal Government has deployed the police in Benue State, are you satisfied with the security situation in your state?

The truth is that no person in Benue State is happy with the state of things and none of us will be satisfied until the perpetrators of the New Year dastardly acts are arrested and prosecuted. We acknowledge that there has been an elevated presence of some security agencies in the state. Though we appreciate their efforts, we will not be satisfied until the perpetrators are brought to book.

The Federal Government has proposed the establishment of cattle colonies in states. What do you think about it?

Like you said, it is a proposal, and a proposal is not mandatory. Officials of the government will look into it and make their opinions known.

Is the state willing to provide land for cattle colonies for herdsmen?

Our governor, Samuel Ortom, has said it several times. Initially, we did not understand what they meant by cattle colonies — only for us to find out recently that it means having multiple ranches in a place. But based on what the governor and the people of the state have said, we do not have land for cattle colonies in Benue State.

There have been allegations that some of your people have been involved in cattle rustling. Why has the state government not been addressing this issue?

To say the state has not been addressing this issue is untrue in the extreme. Since November 1, 2017 when the anti-open grazing law came into effect, there have been multiple arrests of cattle rustlers. As of the last count, over 22 people had been arrested, indigenes inclusive, and they were taken to court and currently locked up in the Makurdi Prison. So, to say that we are not addressing it is completely wrong.

There have also been allegations that some Fulani herdsmen were killed by residents in the past. That the state government do anything about the killings?

Of course, killing is killing, murder is murder, and this government is not going to protect anyone, whether they are indigenes or Fulani, who is caught for murder. Anyone found guilty will face the full wrath of the law. As it is, we have had situations in some local government areas whereby Fulani were killed and the perpetrators were caught and are now facing prosecution.

The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi, recently said that 800 Fulani herdsmen were killed in neighbouring Taraba State, describing the situation as genocide. What do you think about that?

We never heard of any report of such incident ever occurring in our neighbouring state. If it had happened, we would have known as a neighbouring state and the repercussions would have split over here. I do not know where the Emir got his information from, but as it is right now, it is not verified and I don’t even think it is true.

What do you think about the Emir’s statement that politicians were using the anti-Fulani rhetoric to get popularity among their people?

Everybody is entitled to their opinion. If you think that some people are using the anti-Fulani rhetoric, you must have your facts. In Benue State, the problem we are confronted with is that our people are being slaughtered, farm crops are being destroyed, our properties have been destroyed and we are greatly devastated. We have not seen a situation whereby the politicians have been using the anti-Fulani rhetoric to gain any popularity.

The Emir described the anti-open grazing law as divisive and unfair to the Fulani herdsmen and that it deepened the indigene/settler dichotomy and made the herdsmen feel isolated. What do you think about this?

It is really unfortunate that a leader of such calibre would say such a thing. This is a man who is educated and who should understand the way the society works. For instance, if a law is enacted in Kano State, we expect Benue State indigenes living in Kano to respect and obey the law. Likewise, we expect that a Fulani or Kano man, who lives in Benue State, should respect and obey the law of our land. It’s a very simple thing; the Constitution of Federal the Republic of Nigeria gives every state House of Assembly the right to constitute laws for their people. The state has not gone beyond its right to make this law, so for the Emir to say this, is unfair and very unfortunate for him to see things that way. The law is made to protect everybody within our domain, nobody is being persecuted. What we are saying is that we cannot have cattle grazing on farm produce. The state has not gone beyond its right to make this law, so for him to now say this, it is unfair and very unfortunate for him to see things in black and white. The law is made to protect everybody within our domain; this is not witch-hunt. The problem is that we have cattle destroying farmlands, this issue gets confrontational and people die, it is clear and apparent that we cannot have cattle and farm produce on the same portion of land, so they must be separated. The cattle should not be moving up and down but are to stay in a place where they have all facilities. That is our position.

It was also said that Taraba and Benue states’ approach has been of isolation and hate for the Fulani herdsmen and that it is against the global best practice. Do you agree?

Let him first tell the world the global best practice that is needed, we are saying that the global best practice is ranching and for him to say we are doing it in isolation, I disagree with him. Let me say it again that it is very unfortunate for an Emir to talk like this and not understand the simple dynamics of the society. For him to say that we are going strictly against Fulani people is wrong. This law that pertains to Fulani man is the same law that pertains to the Tiv, Idoma, Igede, Yoruba and Igbo man. Everybody is affected. Perhaps, he does not understand the reason for animals to be ranched, that is why he is saying it was divisive or targeted at herdsmen. After all, President Muhammadu Buhari was seen ranching his cattle in his home town of Daura, Katsina State. What is his (Emir’s) problem?

What do you think about the argument that the law is not constitutional because the River Benue and the federal roads that pass through Benue State, for instance, do not belong to the state and can be used by herdsmen?

As long as the river passes through Benue territory, it belongs to the state. Properties that are put along the river bank belong to us. Benue State pays revenue to the Federal Inland Waterways for building anything within certain distances near the water. So we are paying our dues to the Federal Government because the water runs in our land and so as far as it is confined in our land, they must obey our law. It’s as simple as that. If you are talking about federal roads, are state roads not there? What are they talking about? So we should allow herdsmen to be leading cattle on federal roads because they pass through the state? As far as I am concerned, they don’t have any sound argument.

What do you think about the statement by Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore that the species of cows they have are not good for ranching and that the anti-open grazing law is an agenda to destroy their means of livelihood?

Like l said, everybody is entitled to their opinion. For them to say their own species of cows can’t stay in one place is ignorance. Are crop farmers not always looking for better seedlings for better harvest? Have they ever tried ranching those cows before to know they are not good for it? They have a business and so they should sell the species they have and buy the ones that are good for ranching if their argument is even true. It’s a very simple thing. Agriculture is our mainstay and our honey pot and we will not watch anyone destroy it because of their personal interests. I am not saying you should keep cows out of Benue State, but we are saying you must keep them in one place and feed them there. What is the big deal about it? Must the herders and cows be running up and down?

Governor Ortom said the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore had made several threats from the moment the anti-open grazing law was signed. What specific threats were made?

Well, the Kautal Hore said that they were going to resist the law, that they were going to fight back and rein terrors on Benue State. All these things were documented and we have been reporting them time and time again. People who have come out to issue threats on Nigerians have not even been arrested, they are not hiding. It is on newspapers; they have it said on TV stations and till date, they have not been called for questioning.

So, I am using this opportunity to call on the Federal Government again to arrest these men so that the Benue people would feel that they are Nigerians.

What do you have to say to the Fulanis’ claim that they were the first settlers of the Benue valley?

It is extremely laughable because it is on record that in 1804 when the jihadists came this way, it was the Benue people who fought them to a standstill and caused jihad not to spread to the southern part of the country. It is on record and that is why we don’t have emirates in this area. There are other places we don’t have emirates. The Idoma, Igede, Tiv and Igala people don’t have emirates. There are places that they did not conquer and for them to be boastful openly about bringing a holy war, fighting and conquering is unfortunate. They can’t come and lay claim to Benue valley; it is not possible. Benue people were here and they are the owners of the land. No matter what they do, Benue people would resist them because these lands were held in trust for us by our fathers and we are holding them in trust for our own children who are coming and so nobody would take the heritage of our children from us. It is not possible.

The governor disarmed the youths when he came to power. Do you think that made the attacks easier for the assailants and contributed to the number of casualties recorded?

Well, it is a possibility. The governor’s intention was pure. What he intended to do was to disarm youths so that they would not use arms for evil works. You can look at it from both ways. You know that when vigilantes or other youths become idle, they may decide to go into armed robbery and other crimes, so we see this as problem for the state. We felt that we needed to disarm them. That was the essence of the amnesty programme and it was a very noble act which got international commendation. We still stand by it and that is the decision of the government.

The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore said they were never consulted and, therefore, they had no input into the anti-open grazing law. How would you respond to that?

That’s a blatant and complete lie. The law emanated as an executive bill, it followed due process and was passed to the state House of Assembly and there too, it followed due process. The Assembly invited all the groups that live within Benue State, including the herdsmen and Fulani. For them to say that they were not part of it is a lie. The information and inputs of everybody were collated and the law was brought up. For them to say they did not have a part is laughable because everybody had an input into that law. All these people agreed to the law. It is only the Kautal Hore that started this. The Federal Government should not hesitate to bring these people to book or else, another group may come up and start killing people also.

The herders said that the governor gave some cattle breeders N6m to support the law and ensured their support but that the same support was not given to them. How would you respond to that?

How do you think such will happen? Our governor, if you know him very well, will never do such a thing. That is a blatant lie!

What do you think about Federal Government’s handling of the crisis so far?

Like I said, we in Benue State are not satisfied until these people are caught, until we see the kind of body language that we want to see, until the people (killers) are caught and questioned and sanctioned. This crisis has been going on for years. These people have been killing innocent people, our mothers, and children all over the place! Truly, we have the presence of security men around with Inspector General of Police; what we want now is that these people should be arrested.

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